Kerala CM to inaugurate sixth edition of Kochi-Muziris Biennale on Dec 12

Kochi, Dec 11 (PTI) Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will inaugurate the sixth edition of art festival Kochi-Muziris Biennale (KMB) at Parade Ground in Fort Kochi on Friday evening, the organisers said.

In a statement, the Kochi Biennale Foundation (KBF) said that this edition of KMB will feature 22 venues, in addition to seven collateral events, significantly widening the socio-historical and political footprint of India’s largest contemporary art festival, which will conclude on March 31, 2026.

"The 110-day international exhibition features works by 66 artists/collectives from 25 countries, alongside a range of parallel shows," KBF said.

KMB-6, curated by Nikhil Chopra with HH Art Spaces, Goa, has its curatorial theme titled 'for the time being', it said.

The opening ceremony will be followed by a public concert by Shanka Tribe featuring Neha Nair, Resmi Satheesh and Shahabaz Aman.

On Friday, the Biennale flag will be hoisted at the nearby Aspinwall House venue at noon, soon after a Thayambaka recital by chenda percussionist Margi Rahitha Krishnadas and her team.

The opening day will also feature performances by KMB participating artists Mónica de Miranda, Zarina Muhammad and Mandeep Raikhy, among others.

KMB, which is typically held every two years, debuted in 2012.

This time, it seeks to move away from the idea of a singular and central venue, KBF said.

"For the first time, KMB visitors will have the majority of its exhibits outside of the iconic Aspinwall House in Fort Kochi — a key location along with the adjacent Mattancherry. Besides the established Durbar Hall Gallery in downtown Ernakulam, the newest biennale introduces a venue beyond the mainland: Island Warehouse in Willingdon Island, accessible by crossing the Water Metro, ferry or by road," the statement said.

In a press conference held on Wednesday, KBF chairperson Venu V said that the increased number of venues will enable visitors to spend more time with artworks.

KBF could afford to scale up the show this time, backed by a clean-up of the account books and recruitment of senior hands, he added.

KMB president Bose Krishnamachari highlighted the biennale’s character as a deeply participatory, community-rooted celebration of contemporary art.

"Each of our editions is built on collaboration between artists, curators and volunteers, besides the people of Kochi," herecalled.

According to him, the sixth edition reflects organisers’ commitment to expanding cultural access and creating spaces where art can breathe, surprise and converse with the city.

"The expanded venues, new formats and partnerships underline our responsibility to nurture artistic freedom and public engagement," he said.

Curator Chopra pointed out that this edition of KMB is oriented around the body as a bearer of memory and materiality.

To the curator, the ‘body’ extends metaphorically into Kochi’s landscape, built on human and non-human movements.

"Its fragmented geography is stitched together by rivers, canals and backwaters, along with its sediments borne by waves of colonial incursions, maritime trade, migrations, socio-political upheavals and textures of its communal life," he said.

KMB-6 will simultaneously feature exhibitions and verticals such as Invitations, Students’ Biennale, Art By Children, and Edam from December 13 till the end of the biennale, KBF said.

The Students’ Biennale 2025-26 opens at VKL Warehouse at Mattancherry, presenting projects by student artists from over 175 art institutions across India.

KBF said that Durbar Hall in Ernakulam will feature Of Worlds, Within Worlds, a solo show by Gulammohammed Sheikh, curated by Rubina Karode, and presented by Kiran Nadar Museum of Art (KNMA).

The exhibition Edam, curated by Aishwarya Suresh and KM Madhusudhanan, opens across three venues on Bazaar Road at Mattancherry.

A special project on late Vivan Sundaram — a photography-based installation titled Six Stations of a Life Pursued (2022) will be exhibited at Cube Art Space, Mattancherry, KBF said.

The KBF is also hosting an Island Mural Project that seeks to bring art and ideas to public spaces in conversation with communities and regional histories.

Throughout the opening week, performances, conversations, lecture-presentations and concerts will take place across the biennale and partner venues, KBF added. PTI TBA TBA KH